Judge Halts Certification of Questionable Broomfield Election

Judge Francis Wasserman issued an order this week barring the certification of the fracking ban, and ordering Broomfield to comply with Colorado election code

BROOMFIELD – The legal battle over the legitimacy of Broomfield’s haphazardly executed election continues this week before the Dec. 15 deadline to contest the results of ballot Question 300, which would impose a five-year ban on hydraulic fracturing.

Broomfield Balanced Energy Coalition (BBEC) plans to file a motion Thursday to either decertify the Broomfield election results of Question 300 or extend the deadline to contest the flawed election.

In response to another motion filed by BBEC, District Court Judge Francis Wasserman issued an order Tuesday barring the certification of ballot Question 300 and ordering Broomfield to comply with Colorado election code. A hearing date is tentatively scheduled Monday.

“For several weeks, we have been asking Broomfield for basic election information that our designated election watchers are entitled to review under state law. We have been repeatedly denied access to this public information, said former state Rep. B. J. Nikkel, advisor to BBEC.

“Instead of jamming incomplete results through the city certification process, city election officials should have complied with our information request and engaged in an open process to fix what was broken before declaring the vote count as final,” declared Nikkel.

The process and results of the election on Question 300 have been in dispute since the Nov. 5 election night when unofficial results showed the measure losing by 13 votes. After provisional and overseas ballots were counted, the outcome indicated the measure passed by 17 votes, a narrow margin that mandated a recount.

But the recount again changed the Question 300 results to show the measure winning by 20 votes. According to the Secretary of State’s office, the errors by Broomfield’s election officials caused about 100 voters to be disenfranchised. At least 30 voters were improperly deemed ineligible to vote in the municipal election.

BBEC has filed three legal actions to reestablish the deadline for filing a challenge to the election, to compel the city to turn over election documents, and to enjoin the city from certifying the election.

The courts have ruled in BBEC’s favor on each motion.

These latest developments create the obvious questions of whether the election results are accurate or if accurate results can even be determined at this time, said BBEC in a press release.

“We believe that, based on the errors and general disarray in conducting and tabulating this election, that it is clearly in the best interest of the Broomfield residents that an independent and impartial body answer these important questions at this time,” said Nikkel.

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